Hey guys,
Here are some updated pics of the kit. Some things have changed since I last posted pics of it. I got some vintage-looking hardware (cymbal and snare stands) to better fit the "era". I changed the badges out to the blue/olive badges and found an actual 70's rail. I also updated my cymbal rig to match the kit. I've got a refurbished Speed King pedal on the way from Jesse at Drummechanix.com, so I'm excited about that. I just love this kit. Playing this kit sounds like it's right out of the Zeppelin IV recording sessions...
One other thing - With the bass drum, I found that removing the felt strip from the resonant head added to it's boomy-ness. It's not ringy (as in high-pitched), and it adds so much more to the sound of the kit. I recommend to all 26" bass drum owners doing the felt strip method to remove them from your reso heads. Let that drum sing!

If you play your kick hard pay attention to the spur casings. That style was weak and heavy feet have destroyed those casings. If those are the newer offerings hopefully their not that pot metal type of material. I remember guys reinforcing the backing plate inside the shell with larger washers to try to take some of the impact away from the spurs and their casings. Lots of them just switched back to the straight rod and the casings they had. Good luck nice looking kit, always liked the green sparkle finish. Doc

Hey guys,
Here are some updated pics of the kit. Some things have changed since I last posted pics of it. I got some vintage-looking hardware (cymbal and snare stands) to better fit the "era". I changed the badges out to the blue/olive badges and found an actual 70's rail. I also updated my cymbal rig to match the kit. I've got a refurbished Speed King pedal on the way from Jesse at Drummechanix.com, so I'm excited about that. I just love this kit. Playing this kit sounds like it's right out of the Zeppelin IV recording sessions...
One other thing - With the bass drum, I found that removing the felt strip from the resonant head added to it's boomy-ness. It's not ringy (as in high-pitched), and it adds so much more to the sound of the kit. I recommend to all 26" bass drum owners doing the felt strip method to remove them from your reso heads. Let that drum sing!

That is one sexy mudda you have there! It looks like it was plucked right out of the 70's and gently placed on your patio. Maybe it won't be such a bad thing to scare off the wildlife, I hear those Deer and quite the nuisance.

Keep us updated when the souped up Speed King shows up, I've entertained the thought of buying one on a few occasions.

All we're missing now is our resident Giant Beat fanatic Ian Williams to drop by and give this thread his blessing. Happiness is truly 2 feet of ride right above your giant kick drum.

Awesome kit, bro. I love mine as well. Speaking of letting the drums sing, take off those rubber gaskets on your 402 and use the Ludwig snare cord on the snares. You'll love the difference it makes. Isn't it crazy how that kit sounds so much like the recordings? It sounds so authentic when you play Zeppelin tunes with it, really cool. Have a blast!

It does keep the creatures at bay. I'm sure my neighbors aren't fans, but I try to imagine that they're bobbing their heads or dancing when I'm playing. My wife claims I'm sufferring from delusions of grandeur...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Menace

Keep us updated when the souped up Speed King shows up, I've entertained the thought of buying one on a few occasions.

Will do. It came in a couple days ago, and I'm loving it. It's better than if you were to buy a brand new Speed King in the 70's. I'm going to post about it in the Pedals section later.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skulmoski

Very nice kit! That's a big cymbal on the bass drum; is it solid?

Very solid. I know it looks completely unstable, but it's surprisingly sturdy. Plus, the Giant Beat is actually a fairly light cymbal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdrums21

Awesome kit, bro. I love mine as well. Speaking of letting the drums sing, take off those rubber gaskets on your 402 and use the Ludwig snare cord on the snares. You'll love the difference it makes. Isn't it crazy how that kit sounds so much like the recordings? It sounds so authentic when you play Zeppelin tunes with it, really cool. Have a blast!

That's the next (and hopefully final) step to take. I'm waiting until the next time I need to change heads, and I'm going to remove the rubber gaskets and add some Gibraltar hoops to hopefully cut down on rod splay... Also, I'm going to slap on my 30 strand Puresound wires. I think it's the perfect balance between that early and later Bonham sound. I've been curious about using snare cord though. What can you tell me about how it affects the sound?

And thanks bro. Maybe our kits can get together on the playground some day, haha!

The sound is much more open and the drum speaks clearer. I've had straps and grosgrain ribbon on before, but the string really opens it up. I had a post on this a while back. It's like the old tin can telephones attached with string. The vibrations are conducted better via the string and the drum is significantly more vibrant. Many others agreed after switching to string.

I really wanted to play my Bonham kit live in a current band I work with, so I decided to change a couple of things to try to "modernize" the sound somewhat. I tried tuning the toms a little lower and replaced the batter head on the kick drum with a clear powerstroke 3 and cut a small hole in the resonant head for easier mic'ing purposes. I'll tell you what man, I like the original way it was set up soooo much better. With the higher tuning on the toms and the full head on the bass drum resonant side and a coated emp on the batter side, those drums just sound huge. Tons more powerful and fun to play. Bonzo nailed the sound on that type of kit. It just doesn't sound right using "today's" tuning techniques and head combinations. I quickly switched back to the way I originally had it. It's a different animal for sure, but you just can't get that sound any other way. It's not really appropriate for commercial dance rock stuff like we mostly do, mostly due to the huge boomy bass drum, but it just kills for that classic Zeppelin sound. It also sounds great mic'ed up similar to the Ocheltree video, using room mic's and a mic on the resonant and batter side of the kick.

I guess it comes down to bringing out the qualities of the shells through heads and tuning, and what you're looking for in a drum sound. I have a DW "X" shell kit with a 22x18 virgin kick, 12x9 mounted tom on a stand and 14x12 and 16x14 floor toms. Those drums sound awesome with a Powerstroke 3 on the kick drum tuned very low, ported front head and clear or coated emperors on the toms tuned to a low midrange. Very punchy and fat and they mic up extremely well. They rip your face off in the front of house. To try the Bonham kit approach with that kit yields the same results as trying to modernize the vintage Ludwigs....they just don't sound as good. I already knew that about the DW's, I'm just posting this to share for those who are thinking about applying a Bonham type tuning to their "modern" sounding kit. It really doesn't work in my opinion, but who knows, some may actually like it....

I really wanted to play my Bonham kit live in a current band I work with, so I decided to change a couple of things to try to "modernize" the sound somewhat. I tried tuning the toms a little lower and replaced the batter head on the kick drum with a clear powerstroke 3 and cut a small hole in the resonant head for easier mic'ing purposes. I'll tell you what man, I like the original way it was set up soooo much better. With the higher tuning on the toms and the full head on the bass drum resonant side and a coated emp on the batter side, those drums just sound huge. Tons more powerful and fun to play. Bonzo nailed the sound on that type of kit. It just doesn't sound right using "today's" tuning techniques and head combinations. I quickly switched back to the way I originally had it. It's a different animal for sure, but you just can't get that sound any other way. It's not really appropriate for commercial dance rock stuff like we mostly do, mostly due to the huge boomy bass drum, but it just kills for that classic Zeppelin sound. It also sounds great mic'ed up similar to the Ocheltree video, using room mic's and a mic on the resonant and batter side of the kick.

I guess it comes down to bringing out the qualities of the shells through heads and tuning, and what you're looking for in a drum sound. I have a DW "X" shell kit with a 22x18 virgin kick, 12x9 mounted tom on a stand and 14x12 and 16x14 floor toms. Those drums sound awesome with a Powerstroke 3 on the kick drum tuned very low, ported front head and clear or coated emperors on the toms tuned to a low midrange. Very punchy and fat and they mic up extremely well. They rip your face off in the front of house. To try the Bonham kit approach with that kit yields the same results as trying to modernize the vintage Ludwigs....they just don't sound as good. I already knew that about the DW's, I'm just posting this to share for those who are thinking about applying a Bonham type tuning to their "modern" sounding kit. It really doesn't work in my opinion, but who knows, some may actually like it....

I agree. Applying the "modern sound" to the Bonham kit leaves it sounding very dead, thuddy, and boring. This approach doesn't accentuate the shell's natural qualities. I have a Gretsch Renown Purewood Oak kit that I use to go for the more "modern sound", and it delivers perfectly. But there's something about the Bonham kit... I can never make up my mind over which kit I like more. Like you said, it's all about what's appropriate for the music. But I feel very fortunate to have two very different options available to me.

I agree. Applying the "modern sound" to the Bonham kit leaves it sounding very dead, thuddy, and boring. This approach doesn't accentuate the shell's natural qualities. I have a Gretsch Renown Purewood Oak kit that I use to go for the more "modern sound", and it delivers perfectly. But there's something about the Bonham kit... I can never make up my mind over which kit I like more. Like you said, it's all about what's appropriate for the music. But I feel very fortunate to have two very different options available to me.

Dead, thuddy and boring is a great way to describe them when they've been "Un-Bonhamized". It's amazing how different the approach is to those drums to make them sound that way. It's no wonder that many drummers failed to achieve that huge sound by using tuning techniques and head combos that are more appropriate for smaller drums with a more modern bearing edge and shell. Back in the late 70's, early eighties, before I really knew much about drums and drum sounds, I had a Ludwig classic maple kit with a 26x16" kick drum, 15x12 mounted tom and 16x18 and 18x20 floor toms. I was just starting out and new nothing about anything. I slapped pinstripes on the batter side of the kit, didn't pay much attention to the resonant side or the relationship between the top and bottom head, taped folded up paper towels to the heads to get rid of the ring and cut a hole in the front bass drum head. I tried to tune them like I thought I heard them on record, which was very low. The drums sounded muddy and sterile, much like you described. Although I thought the Zeppelin drums were tuned low, in reality, they are tuned much higher than you think...but they sound big and powerful, something I didn't fully realize until I heard it for myself first hand. Had I known then what I know now, those drums could have sounded awesome. Hindsight is 20/20, so lesson learned the hard way. Anyway, you are right, both kits I have are very different and I like them both for what they are. Enjoy your Bonham kit, I hope you get many years of enjoyment out of them. Take care!